LISTED mining company Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc. (FNI) said it plans to expand its nickel resources to meet the growing demand from the stainless steel and electric vehicle (EV) sectors.
“Our strategy is to expand our nickel resources to ensure that we have the capacity to meet growing global market demand. This involves other areas in Surigao, Palawan, Northern and Southern Luzon, and the Visayas,” FNI President Dante R. Bravo said during a briefing.
The company is currently conducting exploration and applications to expand its nickel resources in these areas. Nickel is a key component in the production of stainless steel and EV batteries.
“We hope to be able to have a larger resource base in Surigao, then in Palawan, and then in other parts of the country. We believe in the long-term view for nickel,” he added.
FNI has mining operations in Cagdianao, Surigao del Norte, and Brooke’s Point, Palawan.
“We are also actively exploring value-adding opportunities; specifically, we are reassessing the feasibility of a ferronickel processing plant and a battery-grade nickel plant in the Philippines,” Mr. Bravo said.
The company said earlier that it was looking to enhance the value of its nickel products by processing them to cater to the needs of specific industries, like EV batteries.
“Since our government is supporting the mining industry, we look at this value-added processing aspiration happening sooner than expected,” he added.
For the second quarter, FNI reported that its net attributable income inched up by 0.41% to P196.45 million from P195.65 million in the same period last year.
The company’s revenues rose by 25.1% to P2.49 billion for the April-to-June period from P1.99 billion in the same period last year.
FNI shares fell by 1.35% or two centavos to close at P1.46 apiece on Wednesday. — Adrian H. Halili
